Mental health services and resources for children with developmental disabilities and their families: scan of local practices, gaps, and opportunities created

Jessica Hanson; Kayla Heslon; Tatiana Ogourtsova

doi:10.3389/fresc.2023.1118769

Mental health services and resources for children with developmental disabilities and their families: scan of local practices, gaps, and opportunities created

Front Rehabil Sci. 2023 May 30:4:1118769. doi: 10.3389/fresc.2023.1118769. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jessica Hanson^{1

2

3}, Kayla Heslon^{1

4}, Tatiana Ogourtsova^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Integrated Center of Health and Social Services of Laval, The Research Center of the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Laval, QC, Canada.
² Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
³ Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR), Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Arts and Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Background: Mental health concerns in children with disabilities are common and have a significant and negative impact. Clinicians have reported high demand for this population to receive early, targeted, and family-centred mental health interventions.

Objective: We sought to map out and describe existing pediatric mental health services/resources for children with disabilities and their families across clinical sites and local and online communities.

Methods: Using a mixed-method triangulation study design, we outreached to clinical managers at the participating clinical sites and conducted a rapid online search of local in-person, telehealth, and web-based information. The nature, access method, admission criteria, target, focus, and other pertinent information were recorded and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a narrative synthesis approach.

Results: Eighty-one (n = 81) services/resources (in-person, n = 48; telehealth, n = 10; web-based information, n = 33) were identified. Few (n = 6, 13%) in-person services had a method of care access through an online booking portal. Nearly half of in-person resources (n = 23, 47%) had admission criteria specific for children with disabilities (e.g., diagnosis, age limit), and many (n = 32, 67%) required a formal referral. A small number of in-person and telehealth services targeted the mental health concerns of the entire family (n = 23, 47%; n = 2, 20%). Very few (n = 13, 16%) services incorporated follow-up support. Important gaps emerged for certain populations (e.g., children with cerebral palsy). Practitioners' inadequate training when intervening with co-existing mental health demands of children with disabilities was noted by clinical managers.

Conclusion: Findings could be used to create a user-friendly database to easily identify suitable services and to advocate for services/resources that are lacking.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; childhood disability; environmental scan; mental health services; neurodevelopmental disability.

Grants and funding

This project is funded through the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation (CRIR) New Initiative Fund 2021–2022 (PI, TO).